Wallboard trimmer



Feb 8; 1955 P. R. SNYDER 2,701,416

WALLBORD TRIMMER Fhed June l2, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet l O f5 I. f4 f6 "MHUUUU f3 46 44 Minimum ||||1|| l /1 um I 29 L "a9 1 5.6 a 3f INVENTOR RR. Snyder ATTORNEYS Feb. 8, 1955 P. R. sNYDER 2,701,416

, wALLBoARD TRIMMER Filed June 12, 195s 2 sheets-sheet 2 INVENTOR P. RMSneyder ATTORNEYS United States Patent() WALLBOARD TRllVIMER Posey R. Snyder, Dalhart, Tex.

Application June 12, 1953, Serial No. 361,276

Claims. (Cl. 30-293) This invention relates to a trimming device and more particularly to a wall board trimmer.

In finishing the inside of houses or other buildings, wallboard is oftentimes used as an inside finishing board, as for example, in the type of finish commonly known as dry wall construction. Where such wallboard has to be trimmed, as around windows, doorways, or recessed places, and where a joint is formed by butting two edges of such trimmed boards, it is necessary to recess the edges of such boards so that tape may be fitted into such recess to leave a flat surface for painting and papering.

The trimming of wallboard to form such recesses has heretofore been manually accomplished in a very tedious and slow process. Such manual trimming, aside from being uneconomical usually produces an uneven recess oftentimes having rough edges.

It is accordingly an object of this invention to provide a wallboard trimmer which will speedily and cleanly trim the edges of a wallboard so as to leave such edges recessed, at and even.

It is a further object of this invention to provide such trimmer in the nature of a plane which can be preset to recess the wallboard edges to the desired depth.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide such a plane as will accomplish the recessing without any tearing of the paper surface of the wallboard while leaving a clean edge on such paper.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will 5 become apparent on reference to the following description and drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a pian view of the device;

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the device shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a partial cross-sectional view taken on the line 3 3 in Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view of the trimmer taken on the line 4-4 in Fig. 2; n

Figure 5 is a side elevation of the device shown in Figure l taken from the side opposite to that of Fig. 2; and

Figure 6 is an end view of the trimmer in operation on a piece of wallboard showing the recess cut by the device.

Referring more particularly to the figures of the drawings there is shown a wallboard trimmer 10 having a at base 11 integrally connected to a side Wall 12 which extends vertically upwards at right angles to such base. Attached to side wall 12 by means of locking screws 13 and 14 is a support bracket 15 having a vertical flange 16 which screw threadedly engages the ends of screws 13 and 14. A pair of Vertical slots 17 and 18 may be provided in side wall 12 for receiving screws 13 and 14 and for permitting vertical adjustment of said screws and the support bracket 15 attached thereto. A pair of rollers 19 and 20 may be provided in base 11 in a pair of slots 21 and 22 which extend perpendicularly to side plate 12. The rollers 19 and 20 are rotatably mounted in slots 21 and 22 by means of pintles 25 and 26 at either end of the rollers and bearings 23 and 24 at either end of the slots.

Approximately midway between the ends'of support bracket 15 is located a diagonal slot 27 which receives the cutting edge 28 of a blade 29. The slot 27 is cut at such an angle in the support bracket 15 as to form an acute angle with the after portion of the flange 16 and side wall 12. Attached to the support bracket 15 adjacent the rear edge of slot 27 is an inclined pedestal 30 having an inclined portion 31 and a vertical portion 32. The vertical portion 32 of pedestal 30 may join the rear ICC edge of the inclined portion 31 in a line of intersection which is substantially parallel to the slot 27 in support bracket 15. Substantially parallel to the side edges of the inclined portion 31 of said pedestal 30 is a slot 33 cut into the upper surface of the inclined portion 31. A blade adjustment coupler 34 may be slidably mounted in the slot 33 and may have a downwardly extending rear flange 35 which is apertured at 36. Mounted in aperture 36 is an adjustment screw 37 which may be secured into position by means of a washer 38. 'Ihe other end 39 of the adjustment screw 37 is screw threadedly received in a threaded aperture 40 in the vertical position 32 of the pedestal 30. At the forward terminal edge of the coupler 34 is located ari upwardly extending finger 41 which may engage one of a series of slots 42 located in the underside of the blade 29. The blade 29 is slidably supported on the upper surface of the inclined portion 31 of the pedestal 30 and the lower edge 2S of such blade extends through the slot 27 in support bracket 15. A blade guide 43 may b e mounted on the lower outer edge of the inclined portion 31 of frog 32 to facilitate adjustment of the blade through the slot.

A cap 44 having a handle 45 and flat portion 46 may be mounted over blade 29 by means of a screw 47 which is received in a threaded aperture 48 in the inclined portion 31 of pedestal 30. The screw 47 passes through a slot 49 in the flat portion 46 of cap 44 and the slot 49 terminates in an enlarged circular end 50 which facilitates removal of the cap without withdrawal of the screw 47. The blade 29 may be provided with a slot coinciding with slot 49 to receive the screw 47. A blade locking screw 51 which also serves to tighten the cap 44 is mounted in a threaded hole 52 in the flat portion 46 of the cap 44.

Forward of the slot 27 on support bracket 15 and in alignment with the exposed side edge 53 of the blade 29 is a cutter wheel 54 having pintles 55 which are received in bearings 56 in the surface of the support bracket 15 and in the lower edge of a cowling 57. The cutter wheel 54 extends downwardly through a longitudinal slot 58 in the support bracket 15 and is covered by the hollow cowling 57 which may be attached to the support bracket 15 by any suitable means such as soldering or welding.

in opertaion the lower edge 28 of the blade 43 is lowered through slot 27 by means of adjusting screw 37 to a distance below the lower surface of support bracket 15 which is equal to approximately one-half of the thickness of the paper facing 61 of the wallboard 62 which is to be cut. (See Figure 6). Screws 47 and 51 are thereupon tightened to lock the blade in this position and to firmly secure the cap 44 and handle 45. The plane is then placed over the edge of a piece of wallboard as is shown in Figure 6 and the support bracket 15 is lowered until the lower surface of such support bracket is in even contact with the surface of the paper surfacing. Adjusting screws 13 and 14 are then tightened to firmly lock the support bracket in this position. When such adjustments have been made the trimmer is ready for operation and may be evenly moved along the edge of the wallboard to remove a layer of paper 60 from the edge of the wallboard facing 61. The cutter wheel 54 precedes the cutting edge 28 of the blade 29 cutting the paper ahead of the blade so as to prevent tearing and to give an even edge. Because the cutter wheel 54 revolves it retains its sharpness over a long period of time, a sharp edge on such roller being absolutely essential to satisfactory operation of the device. The acute angle between the cutting edge 28 of the blade 29 and the side wall 12 provides for removing of paper away from the edge of the wallboard, thus allowing such edge to stay clean and obviating the necessity of cleaning the edges of the wallboard after the edges have been recessed. Because of the small thickness of the facing paper on conventional wallboard it is necessary to provide an accurate means of adjustment of the spacing between the cutting edge of the blade 29 and the surface of the wallboard and this is provided by means of adjusting screws 13 and 14 and the rollers 19 and 20. The rollers 19 and 20 eliminate the friction which would otherwise be present and make possible the necessary critical adjustment of the blade and cutter wheel. If excessive friction exists or if the adjustment of the blade or wheel is not suiiciently stable there will be a tendency for the blade and the wheel to cut completely through the paper facing in a manner which will substantially destroy the strength of the edge of the wallboard.

Whereas this invention has been described in terms of a specific embodiment it is to be understood that this has been for the purpose of illustration only and is not to be deemed limiting in any sense, the invention being limited solely by the scope and spirit of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A trimming device comprising in combination a pair of -substantially parallel plates, a side wall joining said pair of plates, means to adjust the spacing between said plates, the uppermost of said plates having an elongated slot therein extending at an acute angle to said side Wall, a blade mounted in an inclined position on said uppermost plate and having an elongated cutting edge adapted to extend through said slot, a cutter wheel rotatably mounted o n said uppermost plate on an axis of rotation substantiallyperpendicular to said side wall, the outermost end of said cutting edge being located at a distance from said side wall substantially equal to the distance between said wheel and said side wall, and handle means for pushing said blade over a work piece.

.2. A trimming device comprising in combination: a pair of substantially parallel plates, a side wall joining said pair of plates, means to adjust the spacing between said plates, the uppermost of said plates having an elongated slot therein extending at an acute angle to said side wall, a blade mounted on said uppermost plate so as to overlay a portion of said uppermost plate, said blade having a cutting edge adapted to extend through said slot, a cutter wheel rotatably mounted on said uppermost plate on au axis of rotation substantially perpendicular to said side wall, the outermost end of said cutting edge being located at a distance from said side wall substantially equal to the distance between said wheel and said side wall, handle means for moving said blade over a work piece, and a pair of rollers attached to the lowermost of said plates, said rollers having their longitudinal axes substantially perpendicular to said side wall.

3. A trimming device comprising in combination: a pair of substantially parallel plates, a side wall joining said pair of plates, means to adjust the spacing between said plates, the uppermost of said plates having an elongated slot therein extending at an acute angle to said side wall, an inclined pedestal mounted on said uppermost plate on one side of said slot, a blade movably mounted on said inclined pedestal and having a cutting edge adapted to extend through said slot, means attached to said blade and to said pedestal to adjust the extension of said cutting edge through said slot, a cutter wheel rotatably mounted on said uppermost plate on an axis of rotation substantially perpendicular to said side wall, the outermost end of said cutting edge being located at a distance from said side wall substantially equal to the distance between said Wheel and said side wall, handle means associated with said blade and pedestal, and a pair of rollers mounted in slots in the lowermost of said plates, said rollers being substantially perpendicular to said side wall.

4. A trimming device comprising in combination: a pair of substantially parallel plates, a side wall joining said pair of plates, means to adjust the spacing between said plates, the uppermost of said plates having an elongated slot therein extending at an acute angle to said side wall, an inclined pedestal mounted on said uppermost plate at least partially within the acute angle between said slot and said side wall, a blade movably mounted on said inclined pedestal and having a cutting edge adapted to extend through said slot, means attached to said blade and to said pedestal to adjust the extension of said cutting edge through said slot, a cutter wheel rotatably mounted on said uppermost plate on an axis of rotation substantially perpendicular to said side wall, the outermost end of said cutting edge being located at a distance from said side wall substantially equal to the distance between said wheel and said side wall, handle means associated with said blade and pedestal, and a pair of rollers mounted in slots in the lowermost of said plates, said rollers being substantially perpendicular to said side wall.

5. A trimming device comprising in combination: a pair of substantially parallel plates each having a ange extending perpendicularly thereto, screw means to adjustably fasten said ilanges together in a parallel overlying relationship, the uppermost of said plates having an elongated slot therein extending at an acute angle to said anges, a pedestal mounted on said uppermost plate and having a portion inclined to said uppermost plate and a portion substantially normal to said plate, said inclined portion having an edge contacting said uppermost plate along one edge of said slot, said normal portion having an edge contacting said uppermost plate on the same side of said slot as said inclined portion, said inclined portion overlying at least partially the acute angle between said slot and said flanges, a recess in said inclined portion of said pedestal substantially parallel to said anges, a blade slidably mounted on the inclined portion of said pedestal and having an elongated cutting edge adapted to extend through said slot, said blade further having a pair of elongated side edges substantially parallel to said tlanges` blade guide means on one edge of said inclined portion of said pedestal and adapted to engage the outermost side edge of said blade, a coupling means slidably mounted in said recess and engaging the underside of said blade. a screw threaded into said normal portion of said pedestal and passing through a portion of said coupling means so as to provide for adjustment of said blade with respect to said pedestal, handle means removably mounted on said blade and secured to said pedestal, a pair of spaced rollers mounted in slots in the lowermost of said plates and being substantially perpendicular to said anges, a cutter wheel rotatably mounted on said uppermost plate on an axis of rotation substantiallv perpendicular to said flanges, said wheel lying substantially in a plane including the outermost side edge of said blade, and a Cowling mounted on said uppermost plate and covering the upper periphery of said wheel.

References Cited in the iile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 399,711 Stixrud Mar. 19, 1889 597,930 Cocayne Ian. 25, 1898 2,601,183 Unsinger June 17, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 127,266 Germany Jan. 17, 1902 

